Friction draft-rigging.



. SHERMAN.

C'HON Darm RIG GING= :CFTEON i) IAN. 20, 'siii 2 SHEETS--HEEY i.

I Arif C. W. SHhRMAN.

FBICTiON DRAFT RIGGENG.

APPLncATIoN man 1mm, 19H.

1.169.434. Patented Jan. 25, 1916.

2 SHEETS-"SHEET 2.

17ML @ZMM y *M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON W. SHERMAN, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL MAL- LEABLE CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION QF OHIO.

FRICTION DRAFT-HIGGING.

Application led January 20, 1911.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it knownthat I, CLrr'roN YV. SHER- MAN. a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Friction Draft-Rigging, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a cushioning device for railway draft riggings and buffers and more particularly to that class of draft riggings for railway cars in which the yielding resistance of the springs is supplemented by frictional ci'igagement of the shoes with relatively stationary surfaces the sa me being generally known as friction draft gears.

Although such friction draft gears as heretofore constructed were superior to draft gears which only employed springs, the constantly increasing weight and capacity of the cars has subjected these gears to such an impact when coupling the cars and when starting the same that the means heretofore provided to save the equipment from unduel wear has been found insuilicient. Owing to the standardization of the present system of car construction it is impossible to add a greater amount of spring cushion because` the space available for the. installation of draft gearing has been exhausted.

It is the object of this invention to provide a draft rigging or gearing which can be installed within the space now available under the M. C. l5. rules or dimensions and provide a. large increase in the frictional resistance to the inovenient of the draw bars of the cars without any' incr asc in the cost of manufacture, installation or maintenance.

In the accompany-'ing drawings, consisting of 2 sheets: Figure l is a fagincntary horizontal longitudinal section of the draft rigging of a rail 'ay car embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is Va. vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a. vertical transverse section in line fk-3, Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a detached front view, of one of the sprea ding wedges or cores of one set of inner movable friction or brake members. Fig. 5 is a side view of the same. Fig. 6 is a detached view from the inner side thereof of one ofthe shoes of one set of inner friction y members. the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Fig. 7 is an outer side View of Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 25, 1916. serial No. 693,672. i

i'ear followers which are guided on said sills so as to be capable of moving horizontally forward and backward, -l a pair of front stops or bloc-ks secured to the inner sides of thev sills and operating to limit the forward movement of the front follower, 5 a pair of rear stops or blocks secured to the inner sides of the sills and operating to limit the rearward movement of the rear follower, G the draw bar or coupler shank arranged lengthwise in front of the front `follower and T the strap or yoke connected with the draw ba and loosely or slidingly embracing. the front and rear followers. These parts may be of any suitable and well known construction.

That part of the draft rigging or gearing which embodies my invention is constructed as follo\vs:--'l`he. friction. member S, which l have shown in the forni of a cylindrical casing, is armuged horizontally and lengthwise between the sills and supported between the longitudinal parts of the strap or yoke. 'lhe rear end of the friction member S engages with the front side of the rear follower, and is provided with a forwardlyfacing shoulder t). while the front end thereof is separated from the rear side. of the front follower by an intervening space or clearance. The friction member forms the friction or brake member, and is incapable of lateral movement. Engaging the rear shoulder 5) of the friction member S is a spring cushion, which preferably consists of two coil epi-ings l0 and ll of different diameters, the smaller one/10 being arranged axially within the larger one 11. At the forward end of the friction `member 8, and adjacent to the spring cushion, are arranged wedging friction members which cooperate with the spring cushion and the member 8 for absorbing, cushioning or relieving the impact against the car. rlhese wedging friction members comprise a plurality of sets of such members, each set constituting a complete friction device. Although the number of sets of wedging friction members may be varied, two sets of such meinbers, an outer or front set and an inner or rear set, as shown in the drawings, are preferred.

Each set of wedging friction membersl with a fiat transverse face 18.

As shown in Fig. l, the two sets of wedging friction members are arranged in tandem and the.flat faces at the large ends of the rear set of shoes-bear against the front ends 'of the spiral springs of the cushion device, and the flat faces on the large ends of the front set of shoes engage with the flat face of the large end of the rear wedge, while the fiat face of the large end of the front wedge bears against the rear side of the front follower.

The friction member 8 and the two sets of friction members are connected so as to be capable of axial movement relatively tuo each other, preferably by means of a longitudinal tie rod or 4bolt 20, arranged centrally within the springs, friction member and wedges, and provided at its opposite ends with shoulders 21, 22, formed by the head and nut thereof, which engage, one with the larger side ofthe rear end of the friction member and the other with the larger side of the front wedge of the wedging friction member.

In the assembled condition of the parts, the springs and oneset of wedging friction members are arranged wholly in engagement with the friction member 8, while the outer set of wedging friction members is ar ranged only partway in engagement with the friction member and projects forwardly therefrom.

When the draw-bar ,or coupler' shank is moved backward by the impact with another draw-bar or coupler, the rear follower remains at rest and forms the abutment which receives 'the thrust,- while the front follower moves rearwardly. Daring this movement the wedges, by reason of the engagement of their inclined faces with the corresponding faces of the companion shoes, causes the latter to be wedged and their friction faces to bear with increased frictional pressure against the friction face of the friction member 8.

Vhile the shoes of both sets'of wedging friction members are thus wedged into frictional engagement with the friction member 8, the frictional resistance to the backward movement of the draw-bar thus produced is added to the resistance of the springs, and

the total resistance offered to the impact from the draw-bar by the gse of two sets of wedging friction members 'is very much greater than would be obtained if one set of such members, 'but equaling in length the two, were employed. The coperating inclines of the Wedges and shoes are at such an angle as to enable the wedges of both sets of wedging friction members to force such shoes against the friction member, and thereby multiply the frictional contact between the same, and still permit the wedges to release or withdraw freely from the shoes instead of sticking. By thus employing a plurality of independent sets of wedges and shoes, the frictional grip on the friction member .8 is multiplied, thereby enabling the rigging to withstand much greater strains or shocks than has been possible by.

the use of the friction gears as heretofore constructed.

It is thus possible to increase the capacity of the cushioning device without any increase in the weight of the rigging or the cost of manufacture, and without complieating the structure or departing from the general lines laid down by the railroad regulations governing the interchanging of parts, and without making the angle of the wedges and shoes so sharpyas to interfere with their proper release. i

The frictional capacity ,of this device is dependent directly upon the resistance behind eaeh set of shoes and a wedge, and the springs constitutethe sole means of resisting the inward movement of the rear shoes and wedge, and therefore control the friction wedging movement of the rear shoes, while the combined compression of the springs and the frictional capacity of the rear shoes and wedge resist the forward or inward movement of the front set of shoes and wedge, and control the frictional wedging movement of the front shoes, thereby intensifying the spring action and frictional resistance and multiplying the capacity of the gear accordingly.

When the drawbar is pulled forward, the front follower becomes the abutment, in which case the friction member 8 and springs are moved toward the two sets of wedging friction members, and the wedgillg of the shoes'by the wedges is effected. Vhen the impact on the cushioningr device has spent itself, the followers are separated one from -the other by the expansion of the springs, and at such time the wedges release themselves from the shoes, and the shoes in turn release their grip on the friction member 8.

The terms and expressions` which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equiva- Liv/39,434 iii lents of the features shown sind tiescriloed, or portions thereof, hut recognize that Various strnotnral xnoflilientions are no, ible Within the scope of the invention claimed.

l claim as my invention:

1. In :1 frictional shock absorbing mechanism, a loneitudinaily-extending friction member haring' at one end a broad flat base adapted to inniart moven'ient in one lireetion to the friction ineinher` sets of shoes in .trietiox'ial engagement with said member, each set or shoes` consisting of at least three shoes and beingr arranged radially about common longitudinal axis, and each shoe having; two longitndinally-exteinling faces which converge toward said axis, wedge members engaging said shoes, und a coinpression spring, said .i'edges anti sets of shoes lit-ing arranged alternately and in tundeni; a 'wedge between snoce ve sets of shoes haringa woiiging singingnient with the set of shoes hetn'eon it and the compression spring and having snhstai'itially non wedg'ing engagement with the set of shoes remoter from .said spring.

ln trictionnl shocl; ahsoihing,` mechanism, a longitn(linally-extentling friction member having its friction surface snhstantially parallel with the longitudinal movement of the friction parts, se s ot' shoes in t'riotional engagement with sfritl member, each set of shoes ',zonsisting of nt least three shoes arranged radially about a eonnnon longitudinal axis, each shoe being intersected by a longitudinally-extending plane cof inoidin,r with said axis, said plane being ont of coincidence with any other plane passing through said axis and through any two of the other shoes in the saine set. Wedge monibors in engagement with sahl shoes, nnil a compression spring, said wedges and sets ot' shoes being arranged alternately and in tandem, each wedge having a welginggj engagenient vwith only one set oi' shoes.

3. ln .trietional shook ahsorlnn ineohaadapted to impart inoii-finent in one: tion to the f ion nninher., of h each shoe having two iongitnili tending faces which converge towy axis, wedge members engaging :d s :35 :und n compression spring. i il wedges 1 of shoes being arranged aiteri'inter in tandem. the sani neilifes having; in edging i'aoes cooper i wedging fst-es on saiil 1N sets of shoes into riifiongi r said member, earh with a fiat tranm sticking during ihr, fl. ln frieionai nisin, :i inain triatlon gitnliinallyaextenili tion shoes in fri said. surfaces, nach ol at least three shoes arranged rznliallj., al i, a Common longitudinal ax@ nietige ,in hers engaging saiffl shoes, sniil svi sets of shoes being arranged al and in tanilenn and :i BonninA A the intermediate wedge liwtn'ren snare T5 sets ol shoes flaring weilgjinef snriar gaginfg oorresin'iinling snraoes on the shoes between it anni sziiii anni raging snraves extending .it :in i.

io the longitufliiialli-exiinline inria the sniii niain 'friction n mi'. n" A mediate vtlge :liso ha ingr nonn'ci j snrl'auos engaging" rorrusyfvnfling snr'aicis on the set of shoes .farther reinoxoti troni said spring.y saiil mirfaees nitteinlin `r tially at right angles Lo the snrl niain friction nieinher,

ary, liill.

mi 'i Y @Ll lrlt'hi "W i, ,i lifitnes s;

li. M. (insinua, Anima Bums. 

